Amateur video footage shown now on Russian television shows the moment a group of about 50 Chechen rebels burst onto the stage of a Moscow theatre last month in the middle of a performance, taking about 800 audience members hostage.

The performance began with no hint of the real-life drama that was about to unfold

A lone gunman (visible on the left) leapt on the stage and fired a shot

He ordered the stunned actors off the stage

Having taken control of the stage...

He was joined by other rebels also wielding weapons

The musicians in the orchestra were forced to climb out of the pit at gunpoint

Other rebels, whose bodies were strapped with explosives, moved throughout the audience